MESSAGE FROM THE RECTOR

Dr. JONATHAN ZHANG, Rector (H), PDMFU.

Dear Student,

Greetings.

PDMFU is about possibilities. Here, it’s possible to change how our successors will think about learning. Here, it is possible to meet—and to become—entrepreneurs who are building apps and businesses and cultural enterprises. Here it is possible to unlock the promise of stem cells or the meaning of a verse, the creation of drug therapies or to struggle with the meaning of justice, to design a human organ-on-a-chip or a public space that draws people back again and again. It’s possible to improve human health a continent away, or to create sustainable energy sources vital to the future.We have the good fortune to come together in a community not quite like any other on the planet. It’s a place where people think and act, imagine and realize. It’s what all of you do, and what all of you can do, that fills me with optimism about PDMFU’s future. A difficult economy has led to weakened job markets. And this in turn has fed a tendency for more people to see higher education in increasingly narrow and instrumental terms—to ask more and more, "How can education get students on track to land their job?" as opposed to asking, "How can it help them learn all they can to shape meaningful, valuable lives?". The cost of education has been rising, even as family incomes have remained stagnant or declined and as student debt has grown. Students as well as policy makers have roundly criticized tuition increases, and last month the Obama administration called for measurable "outcomes"—overwhelmingly job-related—to justify the investment. This is where PDMFU steps in.Our graduates enjoy success in many fields.

The Institution strives for excellence, within the framework of its tradition of service to others. As a student and as an alumnus, you can continue to take pride in the objectives, philosophies and accomplishments of your institution.